South Korea, the United States and Japan have urged North Korea to return to six-party talks over its nuclear weapons program without further delay.

South Korea’s deputy foreign minister, Song Min-soon said the three nations also hope China, North Korea’s major ally, will step up its efforts to persuade the North to return to the stalled international talks.

He made the remarks after taking part in a strategy session on Saturday with his U.S. and Japanese counterparts to the talks, U.S Ambassador to South Korea Christopher Hill and Kenichiro Sasae, chief of the Japanese Foreign Ministry's Asia-Oceania bureau.

The three-way meeting came after North Korea showed signs of backing down after declaring two weeks ago that it possesses nuclear weapons and will boycott further negotiations.

The three countries usually meet for such strategy sessions when there are significant developments in the nuclear standoff.